Breaking Barriers
by Willow23
Summary: In James' last year he is determined to be Breaking barriers. And if these barriers somehow include Lily Evans, then so be it.
1. Chapter 1

_**Breaking Barriers.**_

Willow23

History of Magic was, for James, quite boring. As soon as he sat down his routine would begin.

Pulling out a quill he would scan the room for Lily. As always she would be opposite him, diligently taking notes. He would then reach down into his bag to search for parchment, but really only looking to get a glimpse up her skirt. Like always her legs would be neatly folded, to obscure his view.

He would then gather some scrap parchment and write notes to the other Marauders, staring at Lily whilst waiting for a response.

On this particular day, the heat seemed to encompass the students, drawing robes of pupils.

James' robes were off, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Glancing around the room he noticed Lily taking off her own clothing, rolling her sleeves as well. As she was moving, James caught a glimpse down her top, having undone the first two buttons due to the stifling heat. Groaning, he shifted in his seat to get more comfortable. The heat started to affect his thinking and James decided to rest his eyes for a minute in order to clear his thoughts. Falling asleep soon after, he only awoke when the bell signalled the end of class.

"C'mon, go out with me Evans," he jested.

"No Potter." came the hissed reply from the girl beside him.

"Why do you always say 'no'?" James questioned.

"Why do you always ask?" she responded.

"Because maybe, just maybe, I think that you might say yes."

James shifted in his seat, and meticulously copied more notes off the board on which Professor Slughorn was scribbling instructions.

Being Potions partners suited James quite nicely. As it was Lily's best subject, and one of his worst (even at NEWT level) Professor Slughorn their round bellied teacher had formed an ingenious system, where one of his better students would be paired with one of his less competent pupils.

It just so happened, through a little bribery on James' behalf (A box of Honeydukes best crystallised Pineapple) that he was placed with Lily Evans, the most beautiful creature God had ever created as his partner.

Not only did that mean sitting next to her, it entitled the right to work with her, talk to her, and occasionally, accidentally of course, brush up against her.

"I don't seem to understand," said James looking through his thick textbook, "Why you never seem to want to go out with me," he looked over towards her, watching her beautiful fingers close around a glass beaker.

"I mean, I've searched everywhere for the answer," h said indicating towards the textbook. "But I always seem to come up empty handed."

Out of the corner of his eye James saw Lily grin.

"Maybe you aren't searching in the right places?" she replied.

"Is that so?" his hand moved to take the beaker out of her hand and fill it with their now completed potion.

"Maybe if you deflated your overly large ego I'd consider going out with you." Lily scooped up the potion with a ladle and poured the exact amount into their beaker.

"And how would I go about doing that?" he wondered out loud.

"Well you could try being nice to Snape."

James snorted loudly, almost spilling their work. "Be nice to Snape! C'mon Evans you cant actually be Serious. He doesn't want my friendship and I don't want his." James muttered.

"I never said you had to be friends, just be….civil." she decided.

"And if I am civil you will go out with me?" he asked.

"I guess so." she resigned.

"Deal."


	2. Chapter 2

"You have to be civil."

The sentence rolled out of Lily's mouth quite easily. Not surprising though, on Lily's behalf, because there was absolutely no way imaginable that James Potter could possibly be civil with Snape.

The class continued without interruption for the remainder of the lesson, as the two worked tirelessly on their potion.

As the students were making their way out of the dungeons and into the sunlit corridors of upper Hogwarts, James met up with Sirius and told him the news.

"Mate, is it really worth it?" questioned Sirius. "I mean being nice to Snape of all people." he finished.

"She never said I had to be nice…. just civil." grinned James.

The two continued to stroll leisurely through the halls, talking about girls.

James noticed a fallen potions book, and being the good Samaritan he is, stooped to pick it up.

Opening the front cover, the boys peered at the familiar cramped handwriting, knowing that it could only belong to one person.

A thud made Serverus Snape look up from his lunch, his chicken and mayonnaise sandwich momentarily forgotten.

The sight of his Potions book laying upon the table made Serverus suspicious and glancing up, he saw James Potters retreating back.

Well. This was certainly odd.

Snape opened the front cover of his book only to find a note is tiny scrawl, announcing that he had dropped his book in the second floor corridor, and James had taken the liberty to return it.

Grabbing his wand, Snape muttered a short spell which would serve as an indicator.

With a snarl, he resigned himself to the fact that Potter hadn't charmed the book in any way.

Glaring across the room he noticed Potter looking at Lily Evans, and his blood began to boil.

Serverus was by all means a conservative boy, cunning in his means, striving for ascension.

He harboured secret crushes just as any boy did, but unfortunately, James Potter was determined that Lily Evans would be going with him. Snape knew he would be no match for James Potters charm, or wit, or looks, the list went on.

However, he could match Lily in potions, both of their best subjects.

The class bell rang, and the 7th years headed to their respected rooms.

"See. I can be civil." read the note that was sailing over to Lily.

Looking around the charms classroom, everyone was working quietly on his or her work.

Unfolding the crumpled paper, Lily rolled her eyes and scribbled a quick reply.

"So you are capable of more than it seems." she wrote back, using the Wingardium Leviosa charm they had learnt back in first year to send the object flying over the other side of the room.

What ensued was a session of peculiar note passing between two astute students.

"And I'm capable of so much more," came James' suggestive response.

"Don't push it Potter."

"Fine. First date after class on Friday night, Astronomy tower?"

Lily looked warily at the note, well aware that the Astronomy tower was a frequently used make out place.

"The lake. Under the birch tree." she wrote back, a sense of finality within her words.

"As you wish it. 7pm under the tree."

Tucking the note into her pocket, Lily concentrated on the task in front of her.

Similarly James concentrated on their work, a silly grin marring his face.

"So what happened?" asked Aribella, her eyes searching the girls dorm for her hairbrush.

"I agreed to go out with him," muttered Lily, flipping the page of the latest Witch Weekly.

"Finally! Hey Alice," she called to the other girl in the room, "You owe me 7 galleons, 2 sickles and 5 knuts." she finished, grinning at the other girl.

"You guys made a bet?" questioned Lily, eyeing her two friends sceptically.

"Honey, half of Hogwarts had a bet." laughed Alice, throwing Bella's brush to her.

Lily rolled her eyes at the two, pausing her reading to reflect upon James Potter and the looming date. 'More like looming death sentence' she mentally corrected herself.

She hadn't really thought him capable of actually being civil to Snape, hence her reasoning behind the whole failed plan. Potter was supposed to fail, subsequently leaving her alone. But no, the insufferable git just had to go and ruin her fantasy.

The days leading up to the date, which somehow, almost the entire population of Hogwarts knew about melted away rapidly, too quickly for Lily's liking, and not fast enough for James'.

It was six o'clock when James saw first glimpse of her. The sun was starting to slowly sink beyond the vast forest that encompassed quite a bit of the perimeter, and the reflection off the lake hit her hair at an acute angle. The rays of light gave Lily's hair an almost angelic glow as he watched her come towards him, a scowl set on her pretty features.

James stood from the picnic blanket and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Good evening Evans," he greeted her.

"Potter." she replied, her frown melting away at the sight of the picnic before her.

There was roast turkey, pumpkin pasties, butterbeer, treacle tart and loads of chocolate strawberries, something she didn't know Hogwarts or even the wizarding world possessed.

"You did all this?" she marvelled, glancing up at him. "For one date?"

"I've pictured this day a thousand times, I think I'd be able to get it right." he half grinned at her.

"Oh." was all she could say, flopping down beside him.

"First off," said James, grabbing a Polaroid camera from beside him, "We need to have a photo."

"Why?" she questioned dubiously.

"For later. At the end of our date," here Lily coughed slightly. "You will have a copy and I another. On the white strip you will write two words describing the date, anything from 'Handsome and charming,'"

Lily laughed. "Or 'Ugly and Obnoxious.' Then we will trade photos and keep them to remember our time." he finished.

"Wow, Pranking Potter actually thought of a good idea!" she remarked, moving closer for the photo.

The lunch went surprisingly well for Lily. She made small talk with James Potter, something she didn't think they were capable of, and the entire time he was a gentleman.

By the time the end came, darkness had settled over the castle, and miniature fairies had crept into the birch tree they were under, their wings giving off tiny lights.

Lily picked up one of the photos and contemplated her two words. Her initial thoughts were 'Tiresome and Unwelcome' but that was before the date. Grabbing a texta she wrote 'Unusual and Interesting.'

"Thankyou for tonight James." she said, standing up.

"Thankyou for giving me a chance," he whispered, moving closer to her. A million thoughts ran through Lily's mind as he drew closer. Gazing down at her, James took in her emerald eyes that were reminiscent to diamonds, and slipped his two words into her hand.


	3. Chapter 3

"Two words huh?" grinned Alice. The trio were sitting in the astronomy tower, finishing some star charts for their class.

"Two words. That's interesting," commented Bella, marking down a constellation. "What did he write?"

"Perfect Gentleman." Lily answered, sweeping away a stray strand of hair. "It really reflected his behaviour. Who knew, Pretentious Potter was actually, and I'm loath to admit it, but he was actually quite charming." she muttered, glaring at the parchment in front of her.

"So have you arranged another date?" Bella asked conversationally.

"No. I'm going to make him work for it." the three girls had a bit of a giggle, as they set their completed parchments to the side, and lay down to look up at the full moon. "I don't get why Lily always gets all the good ones. Take Amos Diggory for example." Alice complained.

"Alice, that was way back in fourth year!" Lily exclaimed, digging into her past.

"James was right rotten about that for months," smiled Bella, looking over to examine her friends reaction. "He was always brooding about the common room, and that time when Gryffindor versed them, that bludger hit was no accident Lil's."

Lily's brow furrowed at this. Had James really been upset over that? She couldn't remember.

"But we broke up." she stated the obvious. He was studying for exams at the time, and was more focused on them than anything else. Not that that was a bad thing, Lily thought, but it was just too hard to juggle.

"You cant talk Alice," muttered Arabella. "Frank Longbottom has been eyeing you."

"He has?" questioned Alice, who was completely oblivious to her subdued attractiveness. Whilst not nearly as beautiful as some, Alice was not unfortunate looking.

"Oh my," she breathed, "I wonder if he might fancy me?" she joked, putting the back of her hand to her head.

"O'course he does." winked Bella. Darkness engulfed the three of them, as they made their way back to the rest of the castle, led only by the light of the full moon.

"What was that all about?" questioned Sirius in regards to his whole two words system.

"Well I needed her to relax." remarked James, staring at the photo. He was smiling, Lily was smiling, and a leaf off the tree was falling in the background. Underneath the image was Lily's curvy handwriting. 'Unusual and Interesting.' she had written.

James was over the moon. Maybe, just maybe this left the door open for future dates? He hoped so.

"So whats next on the agenda boys?" asked Peter, adjusting his belt buckle.

The marauders were gathered in a small circle in their dorm room, seated for their weekly meeting.

"Our next prank." grinned Sirius. All the boys smirked at this. It had been a while since any of them had wreaked any havoc upon the population of Hogwarts. "How about," Remus said slowly, "We do something to all the girls?" Remus was not usually a big prankster, being a prefect he had a lot of responsibility that usually kept his head together. "Old Dumbly," he continued using their favourite nickname for the headmaster, "Helped me out a couple of days ago, so how about we do something that would amuse him?" all the boys nodded here, the respect for their headmaster was well felt between the boys. Many a time had they gotten in trouble and were a lemon sherbet away from expulsion when he would step in. "We owe him." nodded Peter. "Ive got an idea…." muttered James. And thus the planning began. The boys pulled an all nighter working on a surprise for 'Old Dumbly's' birthday surprise.

The next day dawned bright and early, and the faint snores emitted from the boys dormitory were an indication of the work they had put in. Muttering unintelligibly Peter awoke the other three boys by pegging their bath towels at them, one hitting Sirius in the face. Groans and Obscenities were filling the room like the rising sun peeking through the window by James' bed. Stretching, they got up and trudged through the castle in the early hours of the morning to abuse Remus' privilege of entrance to the Prefects Bathroom. After a quick scrub and hurried changing all four were groomed and ready to start the day's preparations.

Lily's morning started more uneventfully and certainly much later than the Marauders'. After grtting ready to the hum of Bella's magical blow dryer the three best friends headed down to breakfast. Upon arrival the girls gazed around at the sight before them. Decorations hung from every inch of the great hall. Balloons, Streamers, everything muggle. A massive banner bore the slogan 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUMBLY' that was hanging above the teachers table. Muggle candy decorated the tables in massive bowls, and party hats were at each plate. The girls couldn't believe their eyes, this had to be the work of the marauders. Taking seats at the Gryffindor table, the three began talking animatedly between themselves. "I had no idea it was Dumbledore's birthday!" exclaimed Alice.

"Who did all this?" questioned Bella.

"The marauders." came the response from Lily. They had really outdone themselves this year.

The hall became increasingly full as the student body arose for another bright day of school.

Chatter melted into silence as the headmaster strode into the hall. He glanced around, brow furrowing slightly before letting out a bark of laughter upon reading the sign. Eyes twinkling, he turned to the students before him, seeking out the marauders. "My, my," he began, looking at each of the four boys in turn. "I had quite forgotten that it was this time of year again. I think, perhaps, that might be why I found a block of Honeydukes finest chocolate at the end of my bed?" his smile grew.

As soon as Dumbledore had taken his seat upon the highlighted headmasters chair, all the girls in the great hall suddenly stood up.

Wrinkling her nose, Lily could not come up with any form of idea that could explain why all the girls including herself had stood up.

Looking around the room, everyone was speechless, but not for lack of anything to say. Above them the marauders hovered on their brooms, wands drawn.

_Oh god, _was all Lily could think. "Welcome, Welcome," boomed James' voice around the room. "To the Marauders famous, delightful, spectacular birthday surprise for dear old Dumbly." he zoomed around, the other three marauders muttering incantations. "So sit back and enjoy the show, this one is for you sir."

The boys were now upstanding, and the four house tables flew off to the side of the hall, leaving a great space for everyone. As if like puppets on a string the entire student population of Hogwarts began to move. Their attire changed too, no longer were they wearing the mandatory uniforms, rather, were sporting outrageous outfits. Mismatching socks that would flash, tutus of fluro colours, top hats, talis, tiaras, sweatbands, leather, anything and everything.

Above the crowd the designated puppeteers better known as the Marauders were in a frenzy trying to orchestrate the whole thing. The four waved their wands in a complicated sequence, and everyone's mouths opened. More wand waving and everyone found themselves singing an unknown song, their bodies twisting into some badly choreographed dance moves.

"Dumby, Dumby, Dumbledore,

How old are you, we're not quite sure,

History of magic is a bore,

Marauders we are, the famous four."

The tempo abruptly changed and so did the dance moves. Everyone grabbed someone else, and began some erratic twirling, shaking and lifting. It all looked quite like a scene from an awkward dance contest.

"Headmaster dear, another year you age,

Your skin is supple, far from sage,  
Quidditch is all the rage,

Sirius Black is drop dead gorgeous."

Here a big picture of Sirius was projected on the far wall.

"You git." laughed James, pegging an orange he had levitated off the Ravenclaw table at his head.

Down below, Dumbledore chuckled to himself.

The song continued on, as strange as it began, until minutes later, with a final pirouette from a scowling Regalus Black.

Dumbledore and the rest of the staff arose, clapping wildly, laughing jovially, and wiping tears of mirth from their eyes. Calm restored to the hall as the four flying boys moved the tables back to where they originally were, and everyone sat themselves down. Dumbledore rose, and the hall plunged into silence. "Thankyou for that display of controlled chaos," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his half moon spectacles. "That one would usually call a musical. It was a pleasant surprise, and as a reward, I have decided that all classes will be cancelled for the day, which I believe, if I am not mistaken, permits you to a three day weekend." he finished to raucous applause.

"Who'd've thought," Bella started, "That something good would've come out of something the Marauders did." the other two girls nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

"So how bout next Sundays Hogsmeade trip?" James asked Lily.

"Potter, you're actually going to have to work for this." Lily replied, packing up her transfiguration homework from the Gryffindor common room. The Gryffindors had just had a particularly hard Transfiguration workload dumped upon them unscrupulously by Professor McGonagall. Apparently they all needed to work harder, in preparation for exams.

"I didn't make Snape do anything horrible at Dumbledore's birthday surprise. Surely that counts for something." he grinned at the memory.

"I guess. For that I'll sit with you at dinner tonight if you want." This came tumbling out of Lily's mouth before she could really consider it. Did she really mind though? _Not in the least. _her mind told her. If dinner went as well as the last, well the first date they had been on, Lily found herself thinking that the deal she had made with Potter wasn't going to be so bad at all.

He grinned lopsidedly, running a hand through his messy hair. Such a gesture would normally irritate her to no end, but strangely enough, Lily found the action tolerable. James Potter was beginning to have the strangest of effects on her, and for some unknown reason, she found herself _enjoying_ it._ Quite peculiar indeed, _she thought to herself, grabbing up her only remaining quill, making a quick exit up to the Girls Dorm. A faint "Meet you there at seven!" could be heard as she closed the door to her chambers.

"You're sitting with him?" questioned Alice.

"What happened to the whole, 'I'm going to make him work for it' junk?" asked Bella.

"He said he didn't do anything to Snape when he very well could've at the celebration for Dumbledore." remarked Lily, brushing her hair with a comb. "Plus who said I don't enjoy it." she added.

"Hey!" she said, "Why don't you guys sit with me too?"

Both girls made non-committal sounds, and Lily looked up at them through the vanity mirror.

"We cant, I'm so sorry Lil's." said Bella.

"You can't or you won't?"

"Cant. Frank asked Alice to sit with him, and um," here she coughed. "Amos Diggory asked me." there was a pause where Bella gauged Lily's reaction. The red head didn't seem upset or angry so she took this as a positive sign. "You don't mind do you?" she asked dubiously.

Lily laughed, "Amos Diggory? Him and I were soooooo fourth year. You can go out with him!"

Bella sighed gratefully. "Thanks Lil's."

"No problem. Can I borrow your earrings tonight? The blue ones?" she held up a pair of earrings in the mirror. "Sure. Now Alice, how are we going to do your hair?"

The girls continued chatting and doing hair until dinner.

"Where is she?" muttered James for the umpteenth time that night.

"Dunno Prongs." was all the reply he got from Sirius who had a mouthful of chicken.

"Mate, you might as well start eating." was Peter's input.

Resigning himself, James picked up the scoop for the peas, dishing up some of the greens onto his plate. The scoop soon clattered to the table as Lily took her seat next to him.

"Thanks for waiting." she smiled over at him. "Peter, Remus, Sirius." she greeted the other three boys in turn. "So where are your friends?" asked James conversationally, "I meant to ask you to invite them along too." he winked at her, pouring them both a pumpkin juice.

"Oh. Well Alice is over with Frank Longbottom in Ravenclaw, and Arabella is sitting with Amos Diggory, also in Ravenclaw. So I guess it's just the five of us."

"Diggory eh?" questioned Sirius, scanning the room for him. Sure enough there was Bella, talking animatedly to Amos, smiling and pointing at random things, one of them happening to be Lily and James. Amos winked at Lily, which made James' blood boil slightly.

"So Miss Evans, who should we thank for your presence at our end of the table tonight?" Remus enquired.

"Potter's good behaviour." she grinned back at him. Remus nodded.

"Well hopefully we can see more of you in the future?" hinted Peter. Lily smiled.

"Hopefully." James took this as a good sign.

"Are you quite alright Remus?" she suddenly questioned, taking in his clammy form. His skin seemed paler than usual, eyes more dull. Was he unwell?"

"Just ah, had a bit too much butterbeer last night at the ah, celebration." was his response.

"Oh. I have some pep me up potion in my trunk if you would like?"

"That's very kind of you," he smiled in a wishy-washy way, raking a hand through his hair that seemed a bit matted.

"Padfoot, if you wouldn't mind?" asked James, thrusting the same Polaroid camera at Sirius.

"No probs mate." said Sirius, lifting it to his eyes.

James Pulled Lily closer, smiling for the camera. The flash was brilliant, half the hall turned, making Lily blush.

Dessert arrived pretty quickly after that, and the five of them tucked into custard, treacle tarts, ice cream and various other sweet fillings. All too soon dinner was over, and it was time to write her two words.


	5. Chapter 5

"How was it?" was the first glimpse of conversation Lily heard as she entered her dorm for the night.

"Oh my gosh, it was so fun! Amos is really funny, I felt we really got along. And he invited me to have Breakfast with him tomorrow!" Bella crowed.

"How bout you Alice?" Lily wondered aloud. Alice grinned like a Cheshire cat. "He wants me to meet him tomorrow in the astronomy tower. Said he has something special planned. Oh Lily, it was just dinner, but it was so much more than that!"

All three girls giggled, arranging themselves on their beds, facing each other. A gentle breeze blew in from the East, setting the curtains fluttering in the cool breeze.

"Did James do that whole two words thing again?" at Lily's nod, she continued. "What did he write?"

"Pumpkin Chips." at this the girls looked up, what kind of a response was that? "Its my favourite way of eating pumpkin. I don't know why, but Potter had them on his plate, and he offered me some." she licked her lips in memory. "I don't know, they are just so yummy. Spicy, delicious and unknown."

"Kinda reminds me of Potter." laughed Alice. All three chuckled.

The girls settled in for a good nights worth of gossip after getting ready for bed.

"Well that went well!" exclaimed Remus patting James on the back.

"Yes that Evans is quite a catch," winked Peter, sticking his toothbrush into his mouth.

"PADFOOT!" came the screech only moments later from the bathroom. All the boys snickered. Sirius had replaced the toothpaste with pepper sauce, somehow managing to change the colour and odour.

"Nice!" grinned James, pegging a pillow at Sirius' head.

"So what did she write?" asked Peter, emerging from the door adjacent to Remus' bed.

"Delicious and Unknown." grinned James, lazily stretching back on his comforter a wide grin etched upon his features.

Similarly they all got ready for bed, talking animatedly about how James could possibly impress Lily again.

The next morning at breakfast Serverus Snape sat brooding over his oatmeal. He was trying to work up the courage to maybe talk to Lily in their looming Potions class. Word had spread about the deal she had with Potter, and sitting staring at the sodden oats infront of him, he decided that he would be the one to burst Potters little scheme.

Herbology was first in the line up for the Gryffindors that morning. Sharing the class with Ravenclaw kept the students on their toes the entire time. It was harder to earn house points with the intellectually gifted house sharing this subject.

"Pettigrew, Black," came the trilling voice of their Professor, "Put those down!" Although only a new professor, Sprout was shaping up to be one skilled teacher. Already was she aware to the antics of the Marauders, as was she well aware of the consequences of leaving them alone together in greenhouse number four. Sirius turned with a charming smile on his face, hair whipping around him, his black halo.

"We were merely educating Miss Figg of the danger in swinging Mandrakes around, or duelling with them." he replied, trying to charm the two of them out of trouble.

"Be that as it may, you will still report to greenhouse number seven tomorrow morning at five am, yes AM Mister Black," she re-enforced at Sirius' whine of complain that was quite reminiscent of a dog's cry "to serve your detentions." Peter looked indignantly over at her, scowling for emphasis.

"But _Why_?" Always one for trouble Sirius questioned the professor on her judgement.

"By demonstrating the act of duelling in class, especially with creatures, you are setting a poor example that goes against anything you were supposedly trying to teach Miss Figg." granted she was only new, but the professor could pass as a wizened veteran against Sirius Black and his charismatic ways.

"Pass me a pot Evans?" asked James from across the desk. As Lily was fetching a pot for her group, she saw no harm in getting him one too. The look of surprise on his face was evident, as he accepted the ceramic without making a pass at her. Something Lily wasn't aware was possible. It felt strange, and left her somewhat disappointed. _Is this what our relationship has gotten to? _She mentally questioned herself, shocked at the idea that she could possibly be missing something that had annoyed her so frequently since around about fourth year. She was snapped out of her stupor as Alice grabbed the pot out of her hand, allowing Bella to shove the screaming mandrake into it, quickly filling the surrounding area with dirt, effectively silencing the creature. "Are you ok Lily?" questioned Remus from next to James, patting down the soil of his freshly planted Mandrake with gloved hands. "Fine," she replied, glancing around noticing that half the class was still struggling with their own shrieking bundles of joy to notice that they were finished. On the other side of the room, Frank Longbottom was winking at Alice, whilst trying to refrain from strangling the porcupine head of the Mandrake his group was working on, a feat that was trouble enough in itself as the creature bit his finger. Rushing over to them, Alice examined his finger, and promptly asked to escort him to the Hospital wing of the vast castle.

By the time the two of them had returned, everyone was packing up for the lesson, getting ready to head off to Charms with Professor Flitwick and the Hufflepuffs.


	6. Chapter 6

Potions with Professor Slughorn was upon the Gryffindors before you could say 'Quidditch,' and therefore meaning that James would be seated next to Lily. Professor Slughorn really was a genius, James had to give him credit for his little scheme. Not only was he able to sit next to Lily Evans, girl of his dreams, but he could actually talk to her without worrying about interruptions from his friends, or hers. That particular lesson the class was assigned the very difficult job of brewing a potion straight out of their book, Moste Potent Potions. Lily had given him the job of chopping up their ingredients whilst she added and stirred them meticulously. His head was bent over the herbs that needed to be chopped into fine threads when he heard the familiar and totally unwelcome drawl of Serverus Snape infront of them.

"May I borrow your set of scales Evans?" he questioned, looking down at her from before them.

"Oh I'm sorry Serverus, I seem to have left them in my room," she said in all honesty. "You could if I had them though." she smiled politely at him. Realising this was his chance to snag another date with Lily, James picked up his scales and offered them to the detestable boy infront of them. "You can borrow mine." he said, trying not to grit it out, or worse, try and strangle Snape, for he was sure that wouldn't go down well with Lily.

The look on Snape's face was worth the sacrifice, and the thorough cleaning he would have to give the scales as soon as he got them back. The boy truly didn't know what to do. Coming over with the sole intention of speaking to Lily Evans anyway he could only to have James Potter offer him something the girl couldn't. What a predicament he was in now. On one hand, he could pass up the offer of the scales, and look like a total idiot for asking in the first place, or he could grudgingly accept the scales, and not look like a total fool in front of her. The first didn't seem plausible enough in his mind, so Serverus Snape accepted the scales of James Potter.

The whole room stopped. Everyone was staring at the three of them.

Professor Slughorn clapped his hands, setting everyone back to work, and moving towards James, awarded Gryffindor ten points. Lily smiled over at him, lightly brushing her knee against his thigh. Both jumped at the contact, and James spent the rest of the lesson grinning madly.

The rest of the day continued at an astonishing rate, and soon enough everyone was seated at dinner, enjoying Hogwarts' infamous food. Talk was merry, and the company was good. Lily was busy talking to Arabella and Alice about the days events. "It was like a miracle. He actually offered up his scales to Snape." she recounted to both girls, even though they had been in the room at the time.

"Maybe he is serious about this?" stated Alice, waving at Frank on the other side of the room.

"It does seem strange, I must admit." remarked Bella, picking at her peas.

"I think I like the change." commented Lily, glancing over to where the Marauders were sitting. Normally James-Holier-Than-Thou-Potter would annoy the hell out of her but as of late his antics had been quite endearing. Especially when he mussed up his hair. That little action made Lily want to reach out and run her fingers through it, scuffing the strands up until they couldn't be more dishevelled.

Alice excused herself, going to join Frank for dessert. Similarly Bella made her way over to Amos for some chocolate pudding, leaving Lily with the promise to talk when they got back to the dormitory.

Sitting alone, Lily picked up her spoon and was just about to raise it to her lips when she felt someone slide into the bench beside her. The familiar brown eyes stared into her own for a minute before James Potter winked and helped himself to some pudding. Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin decided to occupy the seats made vacant by the freshly departed girls, and filled their bowls with custard and other such desserts. "We decided you looked lonely down here." supplied Remus, answering her puzzled look. Though he was looking better, Remus still showed signs of fatigue.

"Did my Pep Me Up potion help?" she enquired.

"Greatly, and I thank you again." he smiled before dabbing some custard off his cheek.

It was nice to sit with the marauders, Lily had decided. Their constant flamboyancy never ceased to amaze her. "So Prongs lent his scales to that git Snape today." hinted Peter, receiving a kick under the table from James.

"So he did." she grinned at the small boy. Peter smiled at her, swallowing a pastry whole.

"That really is disgusting wormy. And in the presence of a lady too." Remus reprimanded.

"I bet that I could fit more in my mouth." stated Sirius, always up for a challenge.

"Your on!" exclaimed Peter, tossing him a chocolate éclair full of cream. James choked out a laugh through the pumpkin juice in his mouth. Lily grinned, her hand accidentally slipping onto James'.

"I uh," she muttered unintelligibly. James smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, yet not letting go.

She blushed faintly but didn't try to remove her hand either.

"He held my hand all through dessert." she flopped down on her bed, running her fingers through her red hair, almost crushing a white rose that lay on her pillow.

Under it was a note that read 'Hogsmeade, Sunday?' Lily grinned to herself.

"Guys, I cant go with you to Hogsmeade." muttered Bella, from the bathroom. Lily and Alice winked at each other. "That's ok, neither can I." the red head replied. Both Alice and Bella did a double take, coming to sit together on Lily's bed. "Potter left this for me." she said, plucking the rose from behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

"Alice, help me!" came Lily's groan of frustration from her wardrobe. "I've nothing to wear." she moaned. Always a best friend Alice came to her aid, pulling a knee length dress from her closet and handing it to Lily, whilst fossicking for a pair of shoes under Bella's bed.

"There you go." smiled a satisfied Alice, turning to the mirror.

"Now more importantly, help me," came Bella's voice from the bathroom where she was desperately trying to curl her hair using a bunch of hot rollers. Lily laughed at her, tugging the dress down over her head. It fitted fairly well, just above the knee, and Lily let her hair fall loosely on her shoulders. "Pass me my lipgloss?" questioned Alice from the bathroom, trying to tug out Bella's curlers. "The pink one," she replied in answer to Lily's 'Which one?' "Why didn't you just use magic?" she asked Arabella, pulling the last roller out. Bella shrugged her shoulders in reply, laughing along with Lily.

"I know this really good curling charm," the red head told Alice, "I got it out of witch weekly, the latest edition. With a flick Bella's head was suddenly curly and Alice set about fixing it into a sort of half up half down look. Alice was the true hairdresser among the three. While still academically gifted, she was a right whiz with a straightening charm.

"She'll be here prongs. Stop messing your hair around." advised Remus in response to James' waiting techniques. "How about you go get a carriage." commented James dryly, ushering his friends into a horseless cart, and slamming the door after them with a promise of meeting up later that night for a butterbeer in their dorm.

"Going without me?" came a voice from behind him, and he spun with lightning speed to see Lily Evans standing before him, looking just as beautiful as she did everyday to him.

"I was just getting us a carriage." he smiled at her, motioning for her to accept his proffered arm.

She accepted his arm and they made their way to a coach closest to them.

"Where are we going today?" she questioned, seating herself opposite him. He looked into her brillian green eyes and found himself almost unable to reply. "Uh, Ive got a surprise waiting for us, but you're going to have to trust me." he said, grinning slightly at the thought of what awaited them in Hogsmeade.

The trip to the small town went by very quickly, and soon enough the pair were walking towards the shrieking shack. "Why are we going towards the shrieking shack?" Lily asked, "Everyone knows its haunted." she said with a bit of fear in her voice.

"Its not haunted," laughed James thinking about their monthly trips to the little shack, laying in wait for Remus to transform. She looked dubious, so James grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Trust me." was his reply, leading her up a set of narrow steps towards the entrance. What seemed like seconds later the duo had reached a door, and swinging it open James led them through to an immaculately clean room, a stark contrast to the previous surroundings of cobwebs and dust.

Before them was a loveseat built for two, with squishy cushions, and a rug on the floor, which held all types of candy. In front of that was a projector, and a massive screen that seemed out of proportion in the small room. "Gosh Potter," she gushed, leading him to the loveseat to get comfortable, "You have really out done yourself this time!" James smiled over at her, and subconsciously moved a bit closer, slinging his arm around the back of the couch. Contrary to what he expected, Lily snuggled closer to him, breathing in his scent. A mixture of peppermint and something else she couldn't identify. The credits started rolling for the start of the film from a projector to their right, and Gone with the Wind commenced.

"You like muggle movies?" asked Lily incredulously. He merely nodded, reaching for a jelly snake, offering her the bowl. She pulled a green one out and sucked on it thoughtfully. Was this really the James Potter she had known and disliked? Over the past month she couldn't seem to find any traces of him left, instead a reliable, considerate individual remained. The movie played out, and at the end James stared down at Lily, wondering what would happen next. She leaned up, and he inched closer….

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

There was only a slight gap between them now, and Lily reached up, brushing her fingers across his lips. James smiled down at her. "You had chocolate on your mouth." she remarked grinning up at him.

"You have chocolate on your lips," he said, swooping down to kiss her. "Let me help you with that." he muttered against her mouth. They spent the next few minutes spotting chocolate and other such sticky substances on one another, and being the thoughtful people they were, erased it all from the other.

Pulling his Polaroid camera out of a draw next to the couch James moved closer to Lily for the photo.

As the flash was about to go off she lent over to kiss him on the cheek, winking at the camera.

James laughed and made a copy of the image, passing her a texta.

'Sugar Kisses.' she wrote, passing him her two words.

Looking out the window, James noticed that it was late, and therefore time to head back to the castle.

"That was amazing, thankyou so much James," Lily turned to him at the portrait hole, reaching up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. She turned to mutter the password to the Fat Lady, but James spun her around and claimed her lips gently. "What kind of a goodbye was that?" he joked. She grinned up at him, tugging him through the portrait and into the Gryffindor common room.

"Meet me tomorrow, outside the Gryffindor Change rooms before my match?" he questioned hopefully.

Her response was a drawn out hug and a peck on the cheek before whispering "I'll be there." her hot breath giving him Goosebumps. Before she turned though, James slipped his two words into her hand.

'Simply Intoxicating.'

She was the first of the three girls back, so Lily decided to clean up the mess they had made in the bathroom. Once that was done she checked the time. It was only two. Everyone had to be back by three, so Lily decided to finish her potions essay that was due in two days. Engrossed in her work she didn't notice the other two slip in the room an hour and a quarter later. "BOO!" they had both come up behind her, scaring the living daylights out of the redhead. "Oh you guys, you gave me a fright!" she laughed, chucking a pillow at Bella. And so ensued a massive pillow fight, an all out brawl.

Five minutes later they stopped, exhausted and flopped on Alices bed.

"So, tell us all the goss," Lily winked at Bella. The other girl smiled at the ceiling, recounting her date.

"Well me and Amos," Alice coughed, "Sorry, Amos and _I _decided to go to this little tea shop, Madame Pudifoot's I think, yeah well we went there and spent about two hours just talking about anything and everything, whatever came to mind. Then we went to Honeydukes and bought some chocolate and lay in one of the orchards and looked at the clouds passing us by. Oh and I picked up that thing you asked for too Lily," she said, grabbing a wrapped package from her bedside table. Inside was a perfectly wrapped sugar quill. Lily hugged Bella, while urging her to continue. "Well then we uh, we made out for a while," a blush crept onto her cheeks, the other girls laughing.

"How about you Alice?" asked Bella, her and Lily turning their attention to the raven headed girl.

"Frank and I didn't do that much I guess, we went to Madame Rosmerta's for a butterbeer then just wandered around for a while talking." she finished glancing over at Lily with a half smile inviting her to share her memories from the 'James Potter Date' they had decided to label Lily's outing.

"He had a surprise for me in the shrieking shack," here the other two gasped "But isn't that haunted?" asked Bella in awe. "Nah, well at least James said it wasn't." she replied, going into detail about the mini theatre James had set up and how she felt about him. "We made out a couple of times," she said nonchalantly, passing the girls his Two Words. "What did you write?" they said in unison.

'Sugar Kisses.' in a prelude to this," said Lily picking up the package Bella got for her. Alice looked on questioningly until Lily explained what it was. "That's romantic." came Alices response.

"Why cant frank be romantic like that?" all the girls laughed.

"How was it mate?" questioned Sirius from his place on James' bed, sipping butterbeer, which was most likely spiked with fire whiskey knowing Sirius. James gulped down a mouthful of his own drink and grinned across at him. "We made out." he replied.

"How was it?" asked Peter eagerly. James looked over to him incredulously.

"Pete mate, you need to learn that gentlemen never kiss and tell."

"What were her two words?" asked Remus 'Moony' Lupin from his bed.

"Sugar Kisses" James mumbled. All the boys laughed at this, Peter passing more drinks around.

"Put it on his desk," mumbled Alice, giving Lily a little push.

"But what if he doesn't sit there?" she asked worriedly. Bella sighed directing her to the back row, most usually occupied by the marauders.

"Quick Lily." groaned Alice, looking out the door. They had been the first to class today so that Lily could leave the sugar quill she had picked up from Hogsmeade especially. It would go along with her two words for James. _If he could be romantic why couldn't she? _was her reasoning. James did everything in their strange relationship, and Lily felt it was her time to contribute a little something.

Leaving the quill on his desk, Lily took her seat a row infront of the table, watching silently as the rest of the class filed into the room. Professor Flitwick sat atop his many cushions in order to be able to see and maintain the class. The marauders were typically the last to enter the room, taking their seats behind the four girls.

Soon enough a note came sailing over to land in Lily's hair, disguised as a paper crane. Picking up the fake bird Lily unrolled it to come face to face with James' slanted handwriting.

**Thankyou for the surprise you left on my desk, Sirius being the right royal git he is thought it was for him! **Lily read. Laughing slightly she took a quill from her bag to pen a response.

Sirius would. Thanks again for Sunday.

**Maybe we could do it again sometime? **she read eagerly. The strangest of sensations started in her stomach as she thought of the prospect of another outing. She had grown to enjoy James' company a lot.

Meet me at the Gryffindor stands tonight? Seven PM, don't eat. she decided to write back, and had she have turned, Lily would've seen the satisfied grin spread across James Potter's face.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: My first AN! AAH How proud that makes me! I was originally not going to write Authors notes because I wnated it to be just the story, nothing else. But

I must say you guys have blown me away with your reviews. Fantastic. I never drempt that people would actually like all my bull. I seriously dont call this a story

because its just me babbling! Anyway, Love you all so much and if you want to read another of my works look up my good friend Zanathir. We are writing

the Angelina story, its a bit different from anything ive ever written before so its a bit of a change, hopefully for the good. And without further comments, the story.

The breeze blew softly as James made his way down to the Gryffindor stand, humming, hands in his pockets, the wind carrying his merry tune. Upon reaching the stand he made his ascent to where Lily was waiting for him. She had somehow transfigured one of the benches into a couch, with a blanket spread over one of the arms, and a house elf standing off to the side, its wide eyes marvelling at the sky above. She smiled as he approached her, a current of air blowing her hair every which way.

James stepped forward, taking her outstretched hand, and made himself comfortable on the couch, moving to accommodate Lily's legs that he found were thrown over his own in a companionable gesture. "What can Twilit get masters?" questioned the house elf, bowing low to the ground.

"You need not bow Twilit," commented James, lifting the house elf's chin with the tip of his finger.

"Yes Master," was her reply, eyes shining with unshed tears.

After taking the teens orders Twilit was gone with a puff, leaving Lily and James alone. Snuggling closer, Lily directed their attention at the stars. The half moon was lighting up the night sky, aided my the sprinkling of stars shining brightly. Looking at the stars up there, James compared them to the smattering of freckles over Lily's nose.

The food arrived quickly, and the pair made a start on their plates full of roast chicken, gravy and pumpkin chips.

After the meal, both sat in silence gazing at the stars, the blanket spread across them.

"What's your favourite colour?" James asked suddenly. Lily pondered this before replying "Emerald Green," looking up at him, "What's yours?" James smiled a little at this before telling her his favourite colour was red, just like her hair.

Pulling out his camera, James took a photo of them, making a copy for himself.

"James, I was, uh, wondering," Lily started, seeming a little bit embarrassed, "If you er, if you'd like to make it official?" she muttered quickly.

"I'd, I'd L-" he started before getting interrupted by a massive bang.

"Good Merlin, what on earth was that!" he exclaimed, jumping a little. Lily giggled and pointed into the sky. Fireworks of brilliant purple, sapphire blue, red, pink, orange, every single colour James could think of were exploding out in front of them. It was amazing. Scanning the skies he saw three familiar figures circling high above on broomsticks. Ah the Marauders. A fireworks display would never be complete without them. The pops and bangs continued for a minute or so until the last one went off, which was by far the most spectacular. With a fizzle it went off, millions of different colours and threads, all to meet up and form an image, as the display became clearer, James grinned in awe. Before him was a perfect impersonation of Lily and Him, and as he watched the firework figures turned towards each other, and kissed delicately. With a flash it was over, but the memory was forever imprinted in the youth's mind.


	10. Chapter 10

"And Potter has the quaffle," came the excited commentary from high above the ground.

"He dodges, turns and …. HE SCORES!" the crowd went wild at this, screaming and clapping, hailing the famed Quidditch star. Lily grinned up at him through the crowds, turning to Alice and Bella who were seated to her right.

"I asked him to make it official." she winked at the two of them, gauging their reactions.

Alices face lit up in a wide smile as she high fived Bella who was grinning manically.

"It has come to mind that the first years probably wont know much about the players so heres a bit of a history lesson, if its quite alright with our dear professor here," commented Peter Pettigrew into the microphone, for he was today's commentator.

"First off I'll start with the Gryffindor beater, Sirius Black. This devilishly handsome individual has been on the team since his second year, ladies and gentlemen, and can often be seen with the infamous Marauders." The stands erupted once again as Sirius did a fancy kind of flip in the air, waving down at the students. "Remus Lupin is the second Gryffindor beater, and quite the ladies man. This studious lad enjoys long walks around the lake and sunsets ladies, and can be found within the Marauders. By the way, he's single."

Above them Remus sent a very rude gesture in Peter's direction whilst Professor McGonagall reprimanded him for sounding like a personal ad.

"Chaser James Potter has also been on the team since second year, which, coincidentally was the year he decided he would like the pleasure of one Miss Evans," here Lily groaned, "To accompany him anywhere at all without spitting fire at him. Come to think of it, James has only recently acquired the rights to say that Lily and himself are now officially a couple! With Potters messy black hair and debonair manner he was, until recently one of Hogwarts most eligible bachelors!" finished Peter, as their professor kicked him out of the box with a detention.

By now the crowd was laughing merrily, and at that moment, Ravenclaw scored.

"Crap." muttered James from high above everyone. He had noticed Lily in the crowd, her hair standing out more than anything else.

He would really have to concentrate in order to succeed this time.

Thirty minutes later the crowd went wild as the Gryffindor seekers hand came into contact with the snitch. James sighed, grinning around at his fellow team mates, for the match had been a close call.

He swooped down into the stands to greet his girlfriend. _His Girlfriend. _The whole thing still hadn't sunk in yet. As he smiled down at Lily, (for she had raced up to greet him) her green eyes alive like a million happy things that he could list, his two words struck him. She smiled up at him too, and took in his messy hair, his slightly skewed glasses and eyes, brown like chocolate ice cream melting in the summers sun that reminded her so much of home, Lily realized how lucky she truly was.

Above them, flying high in the sky Sirius smirked down at the couple.

Remus flew slightly higher to join his friend, doing their secret handshake.

"Well Moony, looks like we've done it. I'm a miracle worker." Sirius remarked.

"No your not." came Peters voice from his other side. Although the slightly chubby boy wasn't on the Quidditch team, he was by no means unable to fly around with the others, occasionally participating in the odd game over summer vacations which were mostly spent at James' house.

"Real Life Fairytale."


End file.
